Today, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai circulated to his fellow Commissioners a draft hearing designation order regarding the proposed Sinclair-Tribune transaction. The following statement can be attributed to Gigi Sohn:
Chairman Pai made the right decision in circulating a draft hearing designation order on the Sinclair-Tribune merger. This transaction would place far too many free over-the-air broadcast stations and far too much power in the hands of one company, and its been clear from its most recent filings that Sinclair’s promises to truly divest control over a number of stations in local markets were less than candid.
The opposition to this transaction unites left and right, public interest and industry, because it is bad for competition, for diversity of voices and for the future of free over-the-air broadcasting. The parties should withdraw this merger without delay.
Gigi Sohn is a Distinguished Fellow at the Georgetown Law Institute for Technology Law & Policy, a Mozilla Fellow and the Benton Foundation Public Advocate. She was Counselor to former FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler from November 2013-December 2016. Gigi can be reached for comment at the above email address or at 202-253-0876. More on Gigi can be found at gigisohn.com.